Qi
Qi
He took off the hood, which was already thick with the smell of blood, and scrubbed his blood-stained face.
The water flowing in the canal might be clean compared to the smell, but he couldn't do something as insane as showering in sewage.
As he exited the sewer, feeling along the wall, he saw homeless people who had lit a fire to endure the snowy wind.
Emul rolled up the hood, which was stained red with blood, and headed toward them.
"Who are you?"
"Haven't seen that face before."
"Looks like one of us, but... something's off."
"...Isn't that guy from the sewer? You're young, live a decent life."
Ignoring their wary gazes, he tossed his clothes into the firewood.
Sizzle-.
The flame weakened as the moisture-laden thick fabric went up.
"Hey. I let it slide, but you crazy bastard. What the hell are you doing? Are you dying to freeze to death...."
Zzzzing, bang-!
The slug that erupted from the muzzle of the half-charged High-tech Pistol made the embers burn even more fiercely.
Click, click. Emul, who was about to fire one more shot, pulled out the empty battery and tossed it too.
Tadatadak-.
Technicolor sparks created as the chemicals leaking from the battery burned.
Emul turned his back on the homeless people, who had zipped their lips, and walked away.
The coat that had blocked the winter wind was gone, but he didn't feel very cold.
The warm energy circulating within his body was heating his temperature.
"I'd like to rent a room."
"Day use? 60,000 chips per hour."
"Did the price go up since then?"
"Oh, a returning customer? ...50,000 chips. Go to room 305."
He visited the hotel he had been to before and, as always, rented a room to finish his shower.
'This is also a waste of money. I should just get a monthly rental room or something.'
He frowned and looked at the cracked mirror. His hair was shaggy compared to his cleaned-up appearance.
"About this much...."
He roughly gauged the length and put his fingers to it, and the hair was cut off neatly.
Emul, having finished a reasonably satisfying haircut, sat on the chair and lowered his gaze.
Warmth lingered in his palm. A faint red energy was flowing.
In this world, not only magic power but also Qi existed.
Emul felt a sense of relief just from that fact.
It was a different world from the game he used to play, but it meant they shared the same core.
In the thick fog where he couldn't see an inch ahead, he could at least fumble around under his feet now.
'And the most important thing is that I can use that Qi. Magic power will be stagnant for a while, though....'
When he first realized he couldn't use magic, Emul lost his composure for a moment.
If it were an ability he was never given, it would be one thing, but the sense of loss from having something taken away felt deeper and more distant.
Only after his rampaging emotions subsided could he look inside himself.
'The vessel is tilted.'
The reason he couldn't use magic.
When he tried to draw up magic power, the channel connecting his mental image to reality was strongly compressed, causing internal injuries.
It was like forcibly sucking on a hose in a vacuum state.
It was because the magic power filling the vessel was too heavy compared to the Qi, causing the balance to collapse.
This was a fact he realized while creating a pool of blood on the sewer floor all night.
'The solution is simple enough.'
Drain the magic power, or increase the size of the Qi.
There would be no one who wants to become weaker on their own. Naturally, the latter was the only option.
The total amount was still increasing just by circulating Qi in his body, but the speed was noticeably decreasing.
He had already realized how to operate it since the grain was different yet similar to magic power, so now it was just a matter of practice.
'Should I ask Addy to show me again......hmm?'
The corners of Emul's mouth curled up.
He didn't know how the realization of the future influenced the memories of the past.
But since it was beneficial to him, it didn't matter.
He forcibly straightened a coat hanger he found nearby to make it like a straight line, held it, and closed his eyes.
The impression of that day came to mind faintly.
The swordsmanship Addy showed in front of the rusty mercenary office. He was confused at the time, but now he was certain.
'It's subtly different, but... it was a basic skill of a swordsman.'
Following the clearly imprinted trajectory, he slowly swung the scrap metal upward.
An extremely simple and common upward slash. The name of the technique also didn't escape ordinariness.
Yeokcham (Reverse Slash).
Emul, who was looking at the mirror that was already cracked, clenched and unclenched his palms a few times, then wiped away the sweat.
He had succeeded in stealing it from the far side of his memories.
'Not too bad.'
He crumpled the broken coat hanger, threw it in the trash can, and left the hotel room.
After taking the rattling elevator down to the first floor, he approached the counter.
"Room 305. Please clean it."
He rummaged through his pants pocket, put all the cash he had on the counter, and left the hotel.
The part-timer at the counter tilted his head, watching Emul walk out the door.
"Is he crazy?"
He rented the room for day use, asked for cleaning, and just threw down 300,000 chips.
He could just eat it and keep his mouth shut, but it was an amount he couldn't just ignore. His daily wage wasn't even 50,000 chips.
The part-timer, scratching his head, went up to the 3rd floor and entered room 305, which Emul had rented.
The bedding hadn't even been touched, and there were no signs of using any other supplies.
Just in case, he glanced at the trash can and saw a steel coat hanger curled up like a small golf ball.
"He didn't look like he had modification surgery. What kind of person is he?"
He was glad he didn't ignore the customer's request. The moment the part-timer, who was relieved, was about to clear the trash can.
Crack-.
When he lifted his head at the ominous sound, hairline cracks bloomed on the mirror placed on the vanity.
He judged that it was natural since it had been left cracked. The moment he was about to bend his waist again.
Craaaack——.
Along with the sound of dry wood splitting, the mirror and the vanity split in half at the same time.
The mirror fell and shattered into pieces.
The part-timer, who stepped back in surprise, muttered while looking at the floor cluttered with broken glass and furniture fragments.
"Damn it. What the hell kind of guy... what kind of person is he...?"
*
A man is reflected in the turned-off terminal display.
Grayish-white hair that looked like it had been cut roughly, and eyes of a similar color.
When he moved the terminal away, a man wearing a matte black jumper and parachute pants was standing there.
From the electronic filter mask covering his lower face to the artificial scar on his forehead revealed between his hair.
If you only look at the appearance, no one would think of the mage named Zen.
If he used the same magic he used, it would be different, but he was a body that couldn't even raise magic power, let alone magic.
'Is it worth the high price? They said it was made by pulling out human hair, and it feels exactly like the real thing.'
His account became a bit lighter, but it was a satisfying consumption.
Emul, who nodded with satisfaction, tapped the terminal.
Notifications he hadn't checked for about four days were piled up.
He checked the most recent message first while walking.
[ Rahul-nim has sent 40M chips. Would you like to check the additional message sent? ]
Twice the amount of the promised reward was remitted. He thought he knew the reason, but he checked the contents first.
[ This is a token of gratitude for saving Setrang and Addy. Of course, that's not all. The information on Academy City you wanted. I'll be away for a while to exchange it for something more valuable, so wait. The investigation results on the Cyber Psycho guy will be out soon too. ]
The manager was thorough in his work. Emul, who held such a thought, tapped the screen once more.
[ I'm sorry. Please forget the message from just a moment ago. I'm sorry for making an unreasonable request. ]
The date was two days ago, and the sender's ID was Camellia.
Out of curiosity, he immediately checked the previous message.
[ If you have time, could we meet for a moment now? ]
The interval between the two messages was only about 5 seconds.
During the sewer transaction, she seemed to have quite sharp insight.
She didn't seem like the type to rush into things and then clean up the mess.
'Did she gain some great realization and want to confirm it?... That seems too impatient for that.'
Emul, who was thinking for a moment, checked the other notifications.
The rest were all contents where Camellia shared insights related to magic.
She had sent them periodically, but the reports had stopped since two days ago.
Exactly from the moment she sent the meeting request.
'She knows well how to make people curious. There must be an intention, but... I guess I have to give in once even if I know. I have to pay back the value I received to some extent.'
The 50 million chips Camellia had deposited in advance. Even if she said she sent it regardless of the transaction, it wouldn't be pure goodwill.
From the moment he received it, he had been thinking that he should pay it back appropriately.
Emul, having finished his judgment, sent a short reply.
[ Where. When. ]
As he turned the corner after checking all the notifications, he arrived at his target location with good timing.
An ATM was sitting right in front of him.
Most payments support terminals, but nothing beats cash for luring in petty criminals.
When he moved his hand as the ATM screen indicated, cash poured out as if it had been waiting.
There were 50 circular plastics with small circuits embedded in them. They looked identical to the chips used in casinos.
'I get used to it every time I see it, but I also don't.'
Sometimes they look like toys, but at least he had to consider that they were doing their job as currency.
The moment he turned his back with his pockets feeling heavy, a sturdy arm was placed on his shoulder.
Click. The man, who had pushed a pistol inside his coat so it wouldn't be seen from the outside, whispered.
"You know? Let's go smoothly. Nice and smooth."
As Emul nodded quietly, the man walked into a dark alley with his arm around his shoulder.
They soon arrived at a secluded place with no people. There were two colleagues waiting for the man there.
Men and women, all armed with guns and knives.
The man who brought Emul walked forward and shouted confidently.
"I caught a real one for the first time in a while. See how heavy this guy's pockets are? It's at least 5 million."
"Kya. My dick is going to have a field day today. Let's kill him!"
"Stop with the bullshit and just decide whether to rob him and kill him or not. Rumors are nasty these days. They say some weird woman is running around calling herself a vigilante...."
Had they been watching until he extracted all the cash on purpose?
He hadn't spread his Qi separately like magic power, so he hadn't anticipated that far.
'I thought I might have to walk around jingling like last time, but they couldn't wait and came looking for me.'
Emul, who was admiring the various criminal behaviors in the Undeveloped Area, opened his mouth.
"Are you all done talking?"
"Wow. Where did you bring that moron from? Is your intelligence low so your situation awareness is slow? You're just fucked. Fucked."
A woman aiming a modified sawed-off shotgun while sitting. She said, flicking the barrel as if it were annoying.
"Hey. Take off your mask. You look pretty decent... Who knows? I might feel good and let you live."
The other male colleagues protested at her words, but Emul wasn't listening at all.
A faint flame emanating from the woman, a negligible but clearly detectable energy.
It was also the reason he had been dragged to the back alley willingly.
"Perfect for practice."
Emul raised his Qi.